


your shape in the doorway (after the otherness came), vol. I

by noirshitsuji



Series: (new york city is) insidious [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Intrusive Thoughts, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Loneliness, POV Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Post-NYC special, Post-Reveal Pre-Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Trust, Trust Issues, Unresolved Emotional Tension, adrienette - Freeform, doors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27862473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noirshitsuji/pseuds/noirshitsuji
Summary: Adrien didn’t give her that rose out of malice, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any thorns involved.(The thing about enhanced hearing is that you can hear the soft click of an automatic door just as well as the stifled sobs on the other side of it.)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: (new york city is) insidious [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953754
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	your shape in the doorway (after the otherness came), vol. I

The first door to shut between them closes on her side the day after he gave her the rose–

 **–** **_but this isn’t anything new for you, is it?_ ** _says the voice that had crawled inside his head the day he had received Plagg, previously quiet whispers in his subconscious having grown to mocking ‘banter’ when he is alon_ e–

–and it shouldn’t mean anything because it’s just him and Nino and Alya leaving her place after their weekly study session, but Adrien could feel Nino and Alya exchange looks over algebra homework while he was pretending to calculate the velocity of various falling objects and Marinette was pretending to not be making the same stitch over and over again, and he knows he won’t be back for a while.

“Goodbye, all, thanks for coming,” says Marinette, smiling somewhere behind his shoulder where their other _(the voice has a smile, now)_ two friends are, and she only spares Adrien a quick glance which makes him feel physically ill as he watches the door close in front of him. 

Adrien turns around and heads straight for the car, flashing Nino and Alya a model smile and muttering ‘bye’, and when he gets inside he tries to make himself as tiny as possible in the corner so that the Gorilla won’t see him cover his ears.

* * *

Another day, another abused Gabriel employee, another akuma willing to take it out on the son of the man who’d ruined their dreams–

_–and even if he has no illusions as to his father’s character anymore, a rug has still been pulled from under his feet–_

–Adrien feels himself being lifted off of the ground just in time for ColourMixer to hit the wrong spot with his mood-changing paintball gun and he freezes at the familiar feeling of uncanny-valley-fabric on his skin. Even if he wanted to avoid looking at Ladybug, he is necessarily wrapped around her, so between resting his cheek against hers and burying his face in her hair, he chooses the latter.

His body gently thuds against a familiar glass panel and he reaches out, blindly finding the hidden latch he’d installed all on his own at the bottom of the window and pushes it without once looking. When Ladybug lands them inside, Adrien tries not to let go too quickly or too slowly, though he isn’t sure why he thinks neutrality is somehow most polite. 

“Thank you,” he says. 

She looks at him pensively for a moment, chews on her lip before replying: “You’re welcome,” and then turns around, but–

“–Don’t take too long, please.”

“I won’t,” and the promise feels important, somehow. Ladybug ( _Marinette’s_ ) shoulders seem to relax just the tiniest amount before she nods and swings her yo-yo out. 

Adrien closes the windowpane behind her as Nathalie barges in; he sighs and turns around, apology plastered to the smile on his face, _ah, yes, a calming shower, I think–_

( _Beggars can’t be choosers,_ he’ll think later as he watches her gaze shift wildly between the Lucky Charm, himself, and the akuma, and if it’s trust by demand that this will roll on, well, it’s better than nothing.)

**Author's Note:**

> More angst? More angst. And some Adrien POV, finally. Split into two parts because I'm not done with the door theme but something else needs to happen before it can carry on.
> 
> I always appreciate comments on my work. You can reach out to me down below or on [Tumblr](https://noirshitsuji.tumblr.com/).


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